All Forum Posts by: Ihe O.

Please! We have to

spend time sending the file to and paying the attorney's,

manage the tenant and the property in the meantime to protect the asset while they are still in the house

deal with whatever  measures they take to prevent the eviction, (legal, pleadings from family or church members)

liase with the sherriff's office

change the locks and deal with anything left behind

clean the property and pay for trash removal

spend $$$'s to upgrade

re-certify for lead

do multiple showings and vettings to refill the vacancy and maybe upgrade equipment in the house if necessary to secure the right tenant

deal with the uncertainty of not knowing when the vacancy will be filled or how the new tenant will perform

deal with the utility companies and the city for any licensing issues

transition the new tenant until they are settled and familiar with how everything works.

By contrast managing a habitually late tenant is childs play.  I don't believe in chasing every dime of fees (how much time are you going to devote to chasing a $50 late fee) but even if I were it is still a comparative walk in the park to the opportunity cost of an eviction.

For me the opportunity cost of evicting 2 tenants in this  quest for utopian perfection is the acquisition of another unit. 

I am not under-capitalised, my business is not under threat if tenants miss their payment date.

Therefore my motto is better late than never. 

The phrase "this is a business" and "training your tenant" come up alot in discussions like this.

There is a distinction between what that means said to a tenant and what that means when said to a business partner or peer.

You want your tenant to understand that phrase to mean they should pay what is due, when it is due or suffer the consequences stipulated in the contract. However I think differently when I remind myself that this is a business.

I have customer retention costs, customer acquisition cost and customer attrition costs. Going after every single dime, at the earliest opportunity to the fullest extent contractually permissible has an opportunity cost and may not always make commercial sense.

Because I don't have a  mortgage obligation I am prepared to waive contractual rights, reduce rents and write off arrears in order to achieve a sensible balance between the costs of atttrition, retention and acquisition and an appropriate use of my time.

The contract is invaluable in the event of customer attrition where either party seeks to exit the contract, but it is not a ball and chain that must slavishly determine my actions.

You might say the tenant is training me rather than the other way around I'm not in business to train anybody, it's not a battle of wills. I am pliable up to the point that a commercially viable outcome is still feasible.

You're not. I said the same thing in the post before you.

We  did our first eviction in January. The house stayed vacant for 4 months and we spent an unbudgeted for $10k  on upgrades before we finally got a tenant.

We operate in a challenging demographic. My tenants always get an opportunity to make good and  I am not interested in late fees as it just makes it more likely that they will go into arrears next month as does charging them with the costs of preparing an eviction that you probably didn't want to go through with anyway.

I don't have mortgages so the main inconvenience is not knowing when the rent is coming (and sometimes how much is going to be paid) but it is preferable to the inconvenience and expense of waiting for an eviction and filling a vacancy. 

I'm sure that some of my tenants take undue advantage but late rent is better than no rent at all.  I wait until I am in a no rent situation before filing an eviction. By the time I am in that place I am prepared to endure the before during and aftermath of an eviction process. 

Hello,

I own a couple of units buy and hold but am a computer scientist by training. 

I am happy to take a look at any problem that falls within my sphere of competence or interest.  I imagine some of you have interests in things like web data extraction, well now is your chance.

Anything done is at your own risk and is up to you to determine whether it is fit your intended purpose.

ihe